ARE.L Regulatory News (ARE)

28 Apr 2008 12:35

Arena Leisure PLC28 April 2008 Arena Leisure Plc ('Arena' or 'the Company') Annual General Meeting and Interim Management Statement At Arena's Annual General Meeting to be held this afternoon, the Company'sChairman, Raymond Mould, will make the following statement. "Attendances in 2008 to date have been lower than anticipated across all of ouroperating courses. Nevertheless, largely as a result of the re-opening ofDoncaster Racecourse, Arena's total attendances have increased by 50% to totalaround 120,000 (2007: 80,000) and average attendances have increased by around14%. For the UK racing industry as a whole, total attendances for the firstthree months of the year were 2.3% below last year, although with a 20.2%increase in the number of fixtures, the average attendance was down 18.8%. "So far this year, Arena has staged 139 fixtures, which is an increase of 33(31.1%) on last year (2007: 106). The majority have been staged at ourall-weather courses and 34 of these fixtures (2007: 2) are effectively a newproduct; winter evening fixtures staged in response to the evening opening of UKbetting shops. Attendances at these fixtures have not been as strong as we wouldhave hoped and, consequently, attendances from the non-Doncaster racecourseshave shown only a small increase, despite the considerable increase in thenumber of fixtures. The expansion in the volume of races has also not beenmatched by a corresponding increase in the number of horses competing. As aconsequence, there has been an increased incidence of races featuring fewer thaneight horses that, in turn, reduces the income received from the bookmakersunder the terms of our BAGS contract. "Latest indications are that this year the Levy - the income that is generatedon UK bookmakers' profits on UK horseracing and which largely funds prize-money- will be considerably higher than anticipated. Consequently, it has beenannounced that prize money levels will be increased later this year which shouldhelp to increase the number of runners in the winter evening fixtures at the endof this year, thereby reducing the likelihood of this BAGS reduction issuearising again. "Doncaster Racecourse is in its first full year of operation after itsre-opening last year and is yet to generate the attendances we had anticipatedfollowing such a lengthy period of closure. The track has also been weatheraffected with one fixture lost and the attendance at the Lincoln meeting inMarch badly affected by it taking place during the unusually early Easterweekend and by the extensive snow fall on both the day of the fixture and thepreceding day. "For Arena's courses, the first few months of the year are typically a quietperiod in terms of public attendances and so this period has not historicallybeen a reliable guide for the year as a whole. More important are the busiersummer months where the current prospects are more encouraging. Bookings to datefor the important St Leger meeting at Doncaster are in line with those for thesuccessful event staged last year. The Monday evening fixtures at Royal Windsorhave had a quiet start with the one fixture staged so far this year. Bookingsare currently below expectation for May, whilst the remainder of the seasonlooks more encouraging. "Current trading means that we are behind market expectations, although we arestill expecting to trade ahead of last year. We remain cautious about theongoing impact of the current economic situation on both consumer and corporatespending and, against this backdrop, we remain vigilant, particularly withregard to the control of the raceday operations' cost base. "At The Races, which is 47.5% owned by Arena, has continued to progress well andto build its audience base. This is evidenced by the TV channel achieving itshighest ever ratings earlier this month whilst featuring exclusive racing fromDoncaster and Ascot. "Arena's major development projects continue to progress satisfactorily. Work onthe hotel development at Lingfield Park is expected to start at the end of May.Negotiations over the fixed price contract for the hotel and residentialdevelopment at Doncaster are now going well and work is expected to commence inthe middle of this year. Meanwhile, the Wolverhampton hotel and casino stillawaits the approval of Parliament for the creation of the new 'small' and'large' casinos. "As part of positioning the Group to successfully deliver these importantprojects, we have today also announced the appointment of Antony Harris as theCompany's Finance Director with effect from 1 May 2008. Antony is the formerChief Financial Officer of The UNITE Group plc, having spent thirteen yearsworking in the hotel industry with Inter-Continental Hotels Group and, mostrecently, Hilton International. "We expect to conclude our new financing arrangements with our relationshipbank, HBOS, in the near future to increase our banking facilities to £78m,following the receipt of Credit Committee approval earlier this year. "In summary, although the year has not started as well as we had hoped and weare cautious about the ongoing impact of the current economic situation on bothconsumer and corporate spending, I am confident that Arena is well placed todeliver on the exciting value enhancing opportunities in front of it and tocontinue to deliver a growing profit stream for its shareholders." - Ends - For further information please contact: Arena Leisure Plc: Tel: 020-7632-2080Mark Elliott Chief Executive E-mail: contact@arenaleisureplc.com Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial: Tel: 020-7861-3232David Rydell/Olly Scott www.arenaleisureplc.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange